Log or freight dumping apparatus.



NQ. 707,951', Patented Aug. 2s, |902. T. ALEXANDER.

LOG UR FREIGHT DUMPING APPARATUS. (Appliccion med oct. 7,'1901.)

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No. 707,951. Patented Aug. '26. |902.

T. ALEXANDER.

LOG 0R FREIGHT DUMPING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Oct. '7, 1901.)

(No Model.) 2 Shees$hee 2.

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TONY ALEXANDER, OF BISMAROK, MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GIDEONALEXANDER, OF NFV ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

LOG OR FRElGl-lTDUh/IPING APPARATUS.

SPEGFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,951, dated August 26,1902.

Application le-cl October 7, 1901l Scrial'No. 77,781. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, 'it 72mg/ concern.'

Be it known that 1, TONY ALEXANDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bismarck, in the county of Lawrence and State ofMississippi,ha\e made certain new and useful Improvements in Log orFreight Dumping Apparatus, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention is an apparatus for use with 1o an overhead cable or railcarrier for receiving, arresting, and then dumping a log or other forrnof freight at the end of its travel while suspended from a cable orrail.

The chief feature of the apparatus is a pivr5 oted and automaticallytiltable frame whereon the log or other freight strikes and by which itis arrested and then discharged upon the ground or into a chute or intoa suitable receptacle, the said frame automatically re- 2o sumingitsnormal inclined position immediately following such discharge ordump. The tiltable frame is adapted for vertical adjustment and fordifferent lateral inclinations and provided with a series ofantifriction-rollers and with pivoted and spring-actuated dogs which notonly receive and guide and tend to arrest the logwhen it strikes upontheframe, but serve also to release the hooks or other devices by which thelog is suspended from the carriage that travels on the overhead cable orrail.

The details of construction, arrangement, and operation of parts are ashereinafter de-` scribed, reference being had to accompany- 5 is across-section of the apparatus, illus-y trating the lateral inclinationof the frame for facilitating dumping or discharge of logs, the. Figs. 6and 7 are views illustrating the dumping of freight-boxes. Fig. 8 is adetail view illustrating the attachment of a suspending hoolz or grappleto a freight-box.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the frame A of my improved apparatus isoblong and rectangular and consists of two thick parallel side beams 1 1and end cross-bars 2. A series of antifriction-rollers 3 are journaledin the side bars 1, thus forming a roller-bed upon which the log orother freight is received and supported until dumped or discharged, aswill be hereinafterdescribed. The frame A is pivoted centrally orthereabout, so as to oscillate in a vertical plane, and in practice 6oit is weighted at its front end, as shown at 2 in the figures, so thatit is held normally in slightly-inclined position, as shown in Fig. 1.Its pivotal attachment is provided by means of trunnionsorlateraljournals 7, (see Fig. 1,) i

that enter bearing-blocks 5, which are themselves provided withtrunnions journaled in a vertically-slidable frame'. (See Fig. 1.) Thesaid frame 6 is supported slidably in a guide-slot provided in verticalposts 8, ar- 7o ranged on opposite sides of the frame A. The frames 6rest upon and are adjusted by a screw-shaft 9, which is provided with ahandwheel 10 for rotating it, and whose threaded portion works in a nutbedded in the aforesaid posts 8. The heads or upper ends of thescrew-shafts 9 are set rotatably in caps forming attachments of theframe 6. The latter is provided with lateral projections or ribs thatwork in grooves formed in the inner sides of the slotted portion of theposts 8, as shown best in Fig. 2. The frame A is provided at each `end,on the under side, with a block 11, which is adapted to strike upon theconical head of a screw 12, that is arranged vertically in a guide 13and adapted to be adj usted vertically by rotating it. The guides 13aresupported upon the bed-frame 14: of the apparatus. It is apparent thatby means of the screws 9 and 12 the height of the frame A or its forwardinclination or its extent of movement in the dumping operationhereinafter described may be regulated at will. It is further apparentthat by means of the screws 9 the frame A may be set at a lateral incli-95 nation-that is to say, with one side higher than the other, as shownin Fig. -whereby the discharge of logs from the apparatus isfacilitated, as will be further explained. In

practical use the apparatus is arranged directly under and in line withthe cable or rail upon which the log or other freight is trans- IOOported by means of a carrier. Further, it is arranged at the point wherethe log or other freight is to be discharged or dumped. While beingtransported on the cable or rail the log is supposed to be heldpractically horizontal. Therefore when it reaches the frame A its frontend will strike upon the front portion of the latter and will passfarther up on the same and between dogs 15, as shown in Fig. 3, wherethe log is indicated by X. The said dogs are in the form of blocks whosefront ends are square or angular, and they are pivoted near the centerof their length and in horizontal position upon bars 16,I which are inturn pivoted near their front ends, or at 17, to the side bars 1 of thedischarger A. A strap 18 is applied for supporting the pivotbolt 19 ofeach dog 15. ,A plate-spring 2O is attached to the front end of eachdog, on the rear side thereof, and its free end engages a pin 21, whichis set in the rear free end of the bar 16. Y Said pin also serves as astop for the dogs, so that they cannot be thrown back too far. Thearrangement of the springs 2O relative to the dogs 15 is such that thelatter are held in an inclined position horizontally or are projectedtoward each other, as shown in Fig. 2. In this position they receive alog and guide the same in the direction of the length of thedischarger-frame A. It is apparent that the pointed or rear ends of thedogs l5 will yield proportionately to the diameter of the log X, and ifthe diameter of the log be greater than the normal distance between thepivots 19 ofthe dogs the latter will be forced back bodily along withthe bars 16, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Springs 22 are attached to theouter sides of the bars l of frame A, and their free ends press againstthe bars 16 at a point in advance of their pivots 17, thus tending toforce the free or rear ends of the bars 16 inward. This movement isarrestedby stops 23, which are set in the frame-bars 1 adjacent to theirinner sides. It will be seen, therefore, that the dogs l5 have anoscillating movement of their own, due to their pivotal attachment, andthat they also have a bodily movement laterally in consequence of theirattachment to the bars 16. By this arrangement the dogs are adapted toreceive or engage and duly guide logs of greatly-varyiug diameter. Whena log X is received upon the discharger A, it

passes between the dogs 15, as indicated, and overbalances thepivot-frame A, so that the latter is tilted into the position shown inFig. 4, and continuing its motion by moving on the rollers 3 it passesclear of the dogs and is discharged upon the ground or a chute, as thecase may be. As before intimated, the frame A is preferably inclinedlaterally, as shown in Fig. 5, in order to cause the log to bedischarged laterally as well as endwise from the frame. Theabove-described operation will ensue whether the log be moved slowly orwith great rapidity. In practice the logs received upon the frame Atravel with great rapidity, and the discharge is effected almostinstantaneously.

It is apparent that means must be provided for releasing the hooks orgrapples by which the logs X are held suspended during transit. For thispurpose any suitable means may be employed; but by the construction andarrangement of the dogs 15 they are adapted for this purpose-that is tosay, when a log arrives or strikes upon the discharger Athe dogs arethrown into such position that their rear angular ends (see Figs. 2 and3) strike against the hooks 24, by which the log is suspended from thecables or chains 25, (see Fig. 4,) and thereby knocks or forces thehooks out of engagement with the log. In Fig. 4 the front hooks areshown disengaged and the log is supposed to be traveling forward, sothat the dogs 15 will next engage and free the rear hooks. In brief, thedogs 15 subserve two purposes, in that they receive and guide the logsand automatically disengage the hooks or grapples las the logs pass overthe discharger and are unloaded by the tilting of the latter. Theapparatus as a whole thus operates automaticallyfor receiving,releasing, and discharging the logs.

In Figs. 6, 7, and 8 I illustrate the use of the apparatus fordischarging other freight than logsthat is to say, for discharging suchfreight as is necessarily carried in boxes or equivalent receptacles. InFigs. 6 and 7 I indicate a box Y, which is provided with skids orrunners 26 to adapt it to strike upon and ride easily over the rollersof the frame A. The box Y is suspended by two sets of hooks 27 and 28.The hooks 27 may have a permanent engagement with the box Y; but thehooks 28 engage staples 29, as shown in Fig. 8, the staples beingarranged in recesses in the outer sides of the box Y and the point ofthe hooks being directed forward, so that when the hooks are engaged bythe dogs 15, as in the case of the log-hooks before described, the saidhooks 28 will be instantly disengaged, so that the box Y may be tiltedand discharged into a chute Z, as shown in Fig. 7. In place of weightingthe front end of the frame or discharger A it may be restricted to thenormal position shown in Fig. 6 by means of a windlass 30 and strap orrope 31.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. An apparatus for receiving and discharging logs or other freight,which comprises the fixed frame, having supports, or stops, at each endas described, a tiltable frame, pivoted and supported in the fixed frameat about the middle of its length, and weighted at its front end, andhaving a bed over which logs may slide as described; means for guidingsaid logs lengthwise of said tiltable frame, the latter being heldnormally depressed or inclined downward in the direction of travel ofthe logs, as shown and described.

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2. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising a tiltable framewhich is pivoted at or near its middle, and means for adjusting itspivoted bearings vertically, whereby the said frame may be adjustedbodily higher or lower and set at any required inclination transversely,substantially as shown and described.

3. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising the pivoteddischarger or frame lateral trunnions projecting from said frame at ornear its middle, trunnion guides or supports adapted for slidingvertically and screws connected with such supports for adjusting thelatter higher or lower, substantially as shown and described.

a. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprisingthe pivoteddischarger-frame Central trunnions for such pivoted frame, bearings forsaid trunnions which are in turn provided with lateral gudgeons, a framein which said bearings are pivoted, guide-posts having slots or ways inwhich said frames are adapted to slide vertically, and screws connectedwith the said frame and working in nuts fixed in the posts,substantially as shown and described.

5. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising a discharger-framepivoted at or near its center and tiltable as specified, and a screw topor buffer which is adjustable vertically and arranged beneath the end ofsaid frame for arresting and supporting the same when in use, as shownand described.

6. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising a fixedsupporting-frame, a tiltable frame pivoted therein, and devices arrangedon such tiltable frame and adapted to move laterally, and springsbearing upon said devices and serving to hold them pressed normallyinward over a portion of the bed, for receiving a log or other freightbetween them and yielding and guiding the login the manner described.

7. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising a pivoted tiltableframe and dogs or guide-blocks pivoted upon the sides of said frame, andmeans for holding them projected inward over the bed of said frame,their rear ends being approximated for the purpose of receiving orengaging a log or other freight, substantially as shown and described.

8. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising a pivoted andtiltable dischargerframe, and dogs pivoted upon the side bars of thesame and springs engaging said dogs for holding them projected normallyinto the path of the log or other freight received upon the frame,substantially as shown and described. j

9. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising a frame havingpivoted dogs whose rear ends are adapted to engage hooks or grapples bywhich the logs or other freight are suspended and carried, substantiallyas shown and described.

l0. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising a pivotedtiltable frame having dogs pivoted upon the upper side of the same andtheir front ends being of angular form and springs for holding the dogsnormally in position to receive and engage the log or other freight,substantially as shown and described.

1l. An apparatus for the purpose specified, comprising a frame, barspivoted at their front ends upon the upper sides of said frame, and dogspivoted to said bars, and springs for holding both bars and dogs in theposition required for yielding engagement With a log or other freight,substantially as shown and described.

l2. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination with atiltable frame pivoted at or near its middle and Weighted at its frontend, of dogs which are pivoted to bars and the said bars in turn pivotedupon the said frame, stops for arresting both bars and dogs, and springsfor pressing them inward, in the manner described.

TONY ALEXANDER.

Witnesses:

SoLoN C. KnMoN, J. MIDDLETON.

